Blow up a Star Destroyer and the Death Star in Star Wars Battlefront’s new mode

The upcoming Death Star expansion for Star Wars Battlefront will finally bring space combat to the game in a new mode called Battle Station, EA revealed at Gamescom today.

Space combat was a prominent game type in Pandemic Studios’ Star Wars: Battlefront 2, and proved popular among players. The Death Star expansion will be the first time that the newest entry in the franchise will feature the mode, which was teased at Star Wars Celebration in July.

Battle Station will be a massive skirmish in space with players on the side of the Rebel Alliance staging an assault against the forces of the Galactic Empire, including the dreaded Death Star. The Rebellion, of course, never had a Death Star to call their own, so this mode will put the Imperial side constantly on the defensive.

The battle will commence in three distinct phases. In the first phase, the Rebel Alliance will take off in A-Wing and X-Wing fighters to face off against Imperial TIE Fighters and TIE Interceptors. The Rebels’ goal will be to take out as many enemy fighters as they can before finally bringing down a Star Destroyer.

The fight’s second phase will have players land in the hangar bay of the Death Star itself to pursue and capture a priority droid on foot. Here, the new hero characters will come into play — Chewbacca on the Rebel side and Bossk the reptilian bounty hunter on the Empire’s side.

In the third and final stage, each side will return to space as the Rebels commence the attack run on the Death Star, the climactic battle featured at the end of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. At this point in the game, Rebel players can take on the role of Luke Skywalker as he attempts to blow the space station to smithereens. Players on the side of the Empire will also be able to pursue Luke as Darth Vader in his TIE Advanced fighter.

The Star Wars Battlefront Death Star expansion pack is expected to launch this September. Also coming soon to the game will be a virtual reality X-Wing mission exclusive to PlayStation VR, as well as the fourth expansion pack featuring content from the new film Rogue One.